The Brain Injury Alliance of Oklahoma does not support, endorse or recommend any method, treatment, or program for brain-injured persons. No endorsement is intended or implied.
If you need immediate medical assistance, please call 911 or proceed to your nearest emergency room. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please call or text 988.
What is Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is an injury that affects how the brain works. TBI is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. Anyone can experience a TBI, but data suggest that some groups are at greater risk for getting a TBI or having worse health outcomes after the injury. About 176 Americans died from TBI-related injury each day in 2020. There were more than 223,000 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2019 and about 15% of all U.S. high-school students self-reported one or more sports or recreation-related concussions within the preceding 12 months.
Click here to learn facts about Traumatic Brain Injury.
Resources for Healthcare Providers.
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Mild TBI and Concussion
Most TBIs that occur each year are mild TBIs or concussions. A mild TBI or concussion is caused by:
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A bump, blow, or jolt to the head or
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By a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth.
This sudden movement can cause:
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The brain to bounce around or twist in the skull
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Chemical changes in the brain
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Stretching and damaging brain cells.
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Click here to learn more about Mild TBI and Concussion
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Moderate and Severe TBI
A moderate or severe TBI is caused by bumped, blow, or jolt to the head or by a penetrating injury (such as from a gunshot) to the head. In the United States, severe TBIs are linked to thousands of deaths each year
For those who survive, a moderate or severe TBI may lead to long-term or life-long health problems that may affect all aspects of a person's life. these health problems have been described as being similar to the effects of a chronic disease.
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Click here to learn more Moderate and Severe TBI
Where to Get Help
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There are many organizations who can help you and your family as you recover from a brain injury. Some groups offer support for people living with TBI, their family caregivers, and loved ones.
Click here to learn more about help/support groups available.
year, at least 1.5 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury resulting in more than 4,000 individuals sustaining a TBI on a daily basis. One million people are treated and released annually from hospital emergency rooms after sustaining a brain injury. Brain injury claims more than 50,000 lives and leaves more than 80,000 individuals with lifelong disabilities each year. The silent epidemic of brain injury is illustrated best by a 1999 statistic from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - there currently are at least 5.3 million Americans living with a disability as a result of brain injury.
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Every 21 seconds a brain injury occurs in the United States.
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Approximately 5.3 million Americans (2% of US population) live with disabilities from brain injuries.
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Each year ONE MILLION people are treated and released from emergency rooms and 50,000 people die.
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The cost of traumatic brain injury, in the United States, exceeds $48 BILLION annually.
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Brain injuries are the #1 killer of persons under the age of 44. They kill more Americans under the age of 34 than all diseases combined.
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Who is at risk for a TBI?
Males are about 1.5 times as likely as females to sustain a TBI. The two age groups at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds. Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper) increase the risk of sustaining a TBI. African Americans have the highest death rate from TBI.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that at least 5.3 million Americans currently have a long-term or lifelong need for help to perform activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.
According to one study, about 40% of those hospitalized with a TBI had at least one unmet need for services one year after their injury. The most frequent unmet needs were:
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Improving memory and problem solving;
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Managing stress and emotional upsets;
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Controlling one's temper; and
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Improving one's job skills.
TBI can cause a wide range of functional changes affecting thinking, sensation, language, and/or emotions. It can also cause epilepsy and increase the risk for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders that become more prevalent with age.
TBI Data
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There were approximately 223,135 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2019 and 64,362 TBI-related deaths in 2020.
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This represents more than 611 TBI-related hospitalizations and 176 TBI-related deaths per day.
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These estimates do not include the many TBIs that are only treated in the emergency department, primary care, urgent care or those that go untreated.
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People age 75 years and older had the highest numbers and rates of TBI-related hospitalizations and death. This age group accounts for about 32% of TBI-related hospitalizations and 28% of TBI-related deaths.
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Males were nearly two times more likely to be hospitalized (79.9 age-adjusted rate versus 43.7) and three times more likely to die from a TBI than females (28.3 versus 8.4)
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Children (birth to 17 years) had 16,070 TBI-related hospitalizations in 2019 and 2,774 TBI-related deaths in 2020.